A doctor opposed to COVID jab mandates has appealed his hospital suspension at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA), having last worked in November 2021.

Dr. Ian DePass, a surgical assistant, failed to comply with the CKHA vaccine policy during the pandemic and faced severe reprimand for his actions.

According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), DePass became a general surgeon in 1997, but received a demotion in 2008 for professional misconduct.

According to The Democracy Fund (TDF), CHKA revoked the surgical assistant’s hospital privileges for not getting vaccinated after the hospital rejected his request for an exemption.

The nature of the exemption has not been disclosed publicly, reads a TDF press release.

"As a surgical assistant, DePass cannot earn a living from medicine unless he has hospital privileges," according to The Democracy Fund. "A father of seven, with two young children at home, he has worked in construction since his suspension from the hospital."

DePass ultimately received a hearing before Ontario’s Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) to appeal his suspended hospital privileges after TDF lawyer Lisa Bildy, who represents the medical professional, won "a small but critical motion" last June. It permits her to call upon evidence on vaccine efficacy instead of solely relying on what experts believed in 2021.

"Thereby widening the scope of the hearing, which the Appeal Board agreed would be a 'relevant consideration' in assessing the reasonableness of the CKHA Policy, which remains in effect at the hospital," reads the news release.

The hearing will run six non-consecutive days for the tribunal to reach a verdict on January 19.

CKHA officials did not return a request for comment. 

This is a developing story.